Teamwork
by Reichenbach
Summary: Dick Grayson's kids make him something special for his birthday


Happy Birthday, Charlene. Decided to make ya a gift ta go wif dat   
  
card ;)   
  
Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Teamwork  
  
**  
  
"Don't wanna flip da pancakes," Jimmy Grayson complained as his   
  
sister opened the refrigerator door.   
  
"Flip `em, or I'll beat you to within an inch of your life," she   
  
ordered, pulling out orange juice. "I can't pour AND flip."   
  
"I wanna pour," Jimmy said, waving the plastic pancake turner   
  
around.   
  
"You're not allowed," Mara pointed out snidely. "Remember the grape   
  
juice on the dining room carpet?" She got out a glass and poured it   
  
carefully, then placed it on the tray. "FLIP!" she whispered   
  
harshly. "Flip `em, or I'm going flip YOU."   
  
Making a face Jimmy climbed back onto the kitchen chair at the   
  
stove. "You're da worst thister in da world," he declared, shoving   
  
the pancake turner under the perfectly round pancakes, and then   
  
flipped. As he turned them, the broke up and crumbled.   
  
"Crap a dog. You're like stupid or incompetent or something," Mara   
  
said, ripping the skillet and turner out of his hand.   
  
"I'm telling daddy you said I was incontipant," the boy said,   
  
hopping off the chair.   
  
"Don't you DARE," Mara whispered harshly. "I'll kill you in your   
  
sleep. This is for dad, you twit. Go fold napkins."   
  
She tried to salvage the pancakes, but they weren't really that   
  
great. She scraped them onto a plate and threw the frozen sausages   
  
on the same griddle. They sizzled and hissed and smoked, but   
  
eventually got blistering hot on the outside. She tossed them onto   
  
the plate, and then cracked some eggs. "Cooking's easy," the girl   
  
announced. "Alfie makes a big deal over nuthin."   
  
"Weren't ya thuppozed to butter it up again? So'z they don't stick?"   
  
Jimmy asked, folding a napkin into an origami swan.   
  
Mara looked down at the frying pan for a second, and then her eyes   
  
darted around the room.   
  
"You suck," she was informed.  
  
She started scraping at the eggs, which clung to the dirty   
  
surface. "They're fine. Dad likes `em well-done anyways." A few   
  
moments later, she was pushing the eggs onto the plate. The thin   
  
brown chunks flopped onto the pancake crumbs and sausages. They   
  
pushed the toast to the edge of the plate and almost off.   
  
"I gets to carry it up!" Jimmy announced, snatching the wooden tray   
  
before his sister could stop him. He bounded up the steps, pieces of   
  
toast falling after him.   
  
"Stupid head." Mara grumbled under her breath. She picked up the   
  
face-down toast and shot up the stairs after him. She skidded on the   
  
hall carpet and then put the toast back on the plate. "You're   
  
dropping stuff." She looked at the tray. There was orange juice   
  
spills all over. "This is sooo why you shouldn't have carried it."   
  
Taking the edge of her night shirt, she dried up the mess, then   
  
opened the bedroom door.   
  
"SURRRRPRISE!" The two children shouted in unison. Mom's was the   
  
first to lift off the pillows, but her eyes didn't open. Dad just   
  
sort of pulled the blanket off of his head and gave him `the morning   
  
eye.'   
  
"Happy birfday! I cooked, and I carried it up. I maked the napkin   
  
bird too," Jimmy announced, forcefully placing the tray onto his   
  
father's lap.   
  
The orange juice tipped and spilt onto mom's bare shoulder and her   
  
eyes snapped open. "Guys? it's early?"   
  
"Shh," dad whispered. "They worked together on this."   
  
Mara and Jimmy beamed proudly at their handiwork.   
  
"What have we got here? Orange juice, and toast?" He stared down at   
  
the carpet fibers sticking to the buttery side, and then tried to   
  
quickly brush them off, but it was hopeless. The little pieces of   
  
crinkly white were stuck. "And? something. And sausage. Hey, I like   
  
sausage. And pancakes?"   
  
"Yeah, those're pancakes. Jimmy flipped `em too soon."   
  
Jimmy frowned at his sister. "Those're eggs, daddy," he piped up   
  
mischievously, pointing to the thin, crisp mess covering the rest of   
  
the plate's contents. "She didn' budder da pan."   
  
"Well, this all looks so good, guys. Lets start with the sausage."   
  
He picked up one of the links and bit into it, practically coughing   
  
as he did so. Looking down, he noted that the outside was warm, but   
  
the inside was still squishy and frozen. "Good. Job." He coughed   
  
out, swallowing quickly, and then reaching for the orange juice.   
  
Grabbing the fork, he next tried the pancakes. They were compact and   
  
dry as well. "Wow. That's different," he announced.   
  
"The box said eggs and milk, but we ran outta milk, so I just used   
  
extra eggs," the girl announced, proud of her improvisation.   
  
Dick sat up a little further in bed, holding the tray on his lap. He   
  
looked to his wife, then back to his children. "This is great, kids.   
  
And I'm really proud of you guys for working together. Why don't you   
  
guys step outside for a sec, and me and mom'll get dressed, then   
  
we'll work on devouring this stuff, ok?" He gave them each a patient   
  
pat on the head, then shoed them towards the door.   
  
The two angelic little faces beamed as they floated out of the room.   
  
Barbara sat up in bed, sighing. "They didn't make ME breakfast for   
  
my birthday."   
  
"Trust me. You don't want them to try," Dick whispered, poking at   
  
the eggs. He contemplated disposal methods, and decided he could get   
  
rid of most of it by flushing it down the toilet, then saying it   
  
just looked too good to wait. "So? do you want to be the one to tell   
  
them, or should I?" he asked, sliding out of bed.   
  
"Tell them what?" Barbara asked, readjusting the blankets and   
  
reaching for her chair.  
  
Dick began taking the tray towards the bathroom. "That my birthday   
  
was last week."   
  
THE END  
  
(And happy belated birthday to Charlene). 


End file.
